Safety device for overshoes.



' H. A. FACHE.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR OVERSHOES.

APPLICATION FILED APR.22.1916.

1,207,005. v Patented Dec. 5,1916.

UNITED STATES HARVEY A. FACHE,

OF THORNTON, IOWA.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR OVERSHOES.

Application filed April 22, 1916.

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY A. FAGHE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Thornton, in the county of Cerro Gordo and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Devices for Over-shoes, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to safety devices for overshoes and has for its primary object to provide a simple and inexpensive attachment whichcan be easily .and quickly applied to an overshoe and will effectively prevent the wearer losing his footing upon icy surfaces and suffering possible injury.

It is'another important object to provide a very durably constructed overshoe attachment of the above character designed for use by trainmen, track walkers, bridge tenders, baggage handlers and men of like avocations who are often called to act quickly in case of emergency and without consideration for the security of their footing.

It is another and more particular object of the invention to provide an overshoe attachment comprising a sole portion and a toe portion connected by atransversely disposed obliquely extending hinge joint which is located substantially in parallelism to the toe joints across the foot when the device is applied, thereby permitting the too section of thedevice to assume various angular positions with respect to the sole portion in the bending or flexing of the overshoe.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a corrugated or toothed metal bar or plate' on the toe section of the attachment extending longitudinally thereof at an oblique angle which is designed for the purpose of cutting through the icy coatings upon the bars of iron ladders such as are found upon ordinary freight cars, and it is also an additional object to provide improved means for securely attaching a series of calks to the sole and toe sections of the attachment.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing my improved attachment applied to an overshoe; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

Serial No. 92,998.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device removed from the overshoe; Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section taken on the line 4.4 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the calks. I

Referring in detail .to' the drawing, 5 designates an overshoe of the conventional type such as is commonly used by trainmen, track walkers, and other persons whose avocations require their exposure to the elements, and a proper protection for the feet. The invention forming the subject matter of the present application includes a body section 6, conforming in outline to the heel and instep portions of the shoe sole, and a toe section 7. Each of these sections of the attachment is formed from a metal plate of sheet steel, which, however, is quite thin and comparatively light in weight. The body section and the toe section of the attachment are provided with hinged knuckles'on one of their ends, the bars of which are adapted to be alined to receive a pintle rod 8. Attention is particularly directed to the fact that this hinge extends transversely on an oblique line across the sole of the overshoe when the attachment is applied, and the line of this hinge is substantially in arallelism with the line of the toe joints 0 the wearers foot so that the toe section 7 of the attachment will move with respect to the body section 6 thereof and assume various angular positions in conformity to the flexing of the shoe in walking. Thus there will be no binding with consequent discomfort to the user.

Upon the edge of the heel portion of the body section 6 of the device, spaced upstanding tongues 9 are formed. A curved steel plate 10, conforming to the contour of the heel, is disposed against the inner faces of these tongues and a heavy leather heel strap 11 is engaged against the inner face of said plate. Rivets 12 securely fasten the metal plate and the heel strap to each of the tongues 9. 'At the forward end of the instep portion of the section 6 of the device and on each longitudinal edge thereof an upstanding tongue 13 is formed to which relatively thin ankle straps 15 are securely riveted as at 16. These ankle straps are also secured by means of the rivets 17 to the ends of the heel strap 12. A suitable buckle 18 is attached to one of the ankle straps and the other is provided with a plurality of spaced openings to receive the buckle tongue whereby the straps may be fastened together over the ankle portion of the overshoe.

Spaced upstanding tongues 19 are also formed upon the opposite longitudinal edges of the toe portion 7 of the attachment and to the same toe straps 20 are riveted as at 21. One of these straps is likewise provided with a buckle 22 for connection of the other toe strap thereto.

In order to effectively prevent the slipping of the foot when walking upon icy surfaces, I provide the calks illustrated'in detail in Fig. 5 of the drawing. Each of these calks consists of a metal shank 23 of requisite length which is tapered or pointed at one of its ends and has a flat disk shaped head 24 formed upon its other end. Adjacent to the underside of thishead, a rectangular shoulder 25 is integrally formed upon the calk. The sections of the attachment are provided at properly spaced points with rectangular openings 26 to receive the shoulders 25 of the calk. Each-calk shank, contiguous tothe shoulder thereon, has a threaded portion 27 to receive a nut 28 which is adapted to be tightened into clamping frictional engagement with the bottom face of the metallic sections of the device. If desired, a suitable locking means may be provided for the nut 28, although I have found the same to be unnecessary, if the calks are properly applied.

In addition to the calks above referred to, I also provide a metal bar or rib 29 on one edge of which a number-of angularly disposed flanges 30 are formed which are adapted to be riveted to the toe section of the attachment The bar 29 is arranged longitudinally of the metal toe section but obliquely with respect to the axis thereof and is notched or recessed to provide a series of gripping points or spurs indicated at 31.

In the use'of the invention, it will be understood that the same is applied to the overshoe in the manner shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. The wearer may walk in a perfectly natural manner, owing to the particular hinged connection between the toe and body portions of the device,as above referred to- The calks in the metal plates will securely grip or bite into the icy surface and thus eflectively obviate the slipping of the foot and possible injury to the wearer. The device will thus be found particularly serviceable by the members of train crews,

bridgemen, track walkers, and the like,

whose duty requires them to move quickly and who are often obliged to risk their lives, in walking upon ice-covered trestles, car steps, or other places where a fall would be likely to result fatally. By the provision of the toothed bar or rib 29, trainmen may safely agcend or descend the iron ladders usually provided on freight cars, as the teeth or spurs on said rib will cut through the icy coating on the ladder rungs and 'obtaina secure frictional gripping contact By the provision of the large flat heads on I the calk shanks which are disposed upon the uppersurfaces of the sections 6 and 7 of the attachment, the wearer will surfer no discomfort by reason of the pressure of such portions 011 the sole of the foot. It will thus be seen that I have produced an anti-slipping safety attachment for shoes which is very durable in its construction as well as serviceable and convenient in practical use. The device can of course be manufactured in various sizes and, owing to its simple construction, at relatively small manufacturing cost. I

While I have shown and describedthe preferred construction and arrangement of the several parts of my invention, it will be understood that the device is susceptible of considerable modification therein and, therefore, I reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

A safety attachment for shoes, including'a body plate consisting of a heel portion and an instep portion, a toe plate, and a transverse hinge connecting the toe plate to the forward edge of the body plate and adapted to extend obliquely across the sole of the connecting the plate and heel strap tosaid v tongues, fastening means connected to the ends of the heel strap, and fastening means connected to said toe section whereby the device may be fastened upon the shoe.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HARVEY A. FACHE. 

